Anthropology Courses | 2024-2025 Academic Catalog | SIU

(University Core Curriculum) [IAI Course: S1 900N] This course explores different human life ways around the world, past and present. It investigates the question of what is universal to all humans and the myriad ways they differ, through studying modern people, the remains of past cultures through archaeology, and human origins and physical variation.

Credit Hours: 3

(University Core Curriculum) The United States is a multicultural society in which differences of race, ethnicity, gender, class, region, and religion deeply shape individuals' life chances. This course studies America's diversity of family organization, livelihood and life chances, understanding of illness and health care, religious beliefs and practices, and other topics. It provides tools to understand different cultural codes and forms of power, and to understand key issues that students will face as individuals and citizens in a multicultural world.

Credit Hours: 3

(University Core Curriculum) The central concern of this course is the cultural aspect of the Latino experience in the United States. It focuses on the contemporary population, the political and economic issues that affect Latinos in this society, and the characteristics that Latinos share and yet that make Latinos the most diverse population in the United States. These characteristics include family, religion, socio-economic status, gender ideology, generational relations, and more. The course pivots around the construction of Latino identity: What helps shape it? How do Latinos perceive themselves? How do others perceive (us) them?

Credit Hours: 3

(University Core Curriculum) [IAI Course: S2 920N] Introduction to three civilizations of Latin America: Mexica Aztec; Inca; and Maya. Prehispanic culture history in the lower Amazon River basin and the impact of Spanish contact and conquest on these native Latin American populations will also be discussed.

Credit Hours: 3

This survey of our past examines the variety of human communities and societies. We focus on the "big developments" during the last three million years: the first use of tools and fire, the first appearance of religion and belief systems, the first art, the switch from foraging to farming (and its consequences), the growth of social inequality, and the first monuments, governments, states and empires.

Credit Hours: 3

Our closest cousins, the primates, display a remarkable diversity of social behavior, reproductive behavior, positional behaviors and diets, and live in a wide variety of environments and ecosystems. This diversity will be reviewed, with an eye to understanding its origin in the past and its anatomical basis.

Credit Hours: 3

This half-semester course explores the lives of the five ape taxa, chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans, gorillas and gibbons with the goal of providing clues to a better understanding of humans. Through videos and lectures students will learn what it means to be an ape, where and how apes live, what distinguishes apes from monkeys and why humans are also apes.

Credit Hours: 3

Forensic Anthropology is the application of the theoretical and practical techniques of physical anthropology to human remains of medico-legal significance. This course will focus on the teaching of theory and method appropriate to allow the creation of a biological profile for an unknown individual. Topics will include human osteology, techniques for estimating the age and sex of an individual from skeletal remains, analysis of trauma, skeletal recovery, and the evolving role of forensic anthropology in the medico-legal system. This course is required for the Interdisciplinary Forensic Sciences minor. No prerequisites.

Credit Hours: 3

(University Core Curriculum) An introduction to humans as a biological species. Applies scientific method to exploring data on humans and our closest relatives, to better understand our place in the web of life as a biological organism. Includes genetics (particularly human genetics), evolutionary theory, primate behavior and evolution, human fossil record, and similarities and differences in modern humans, including blood groups, skin color, and disease susceptibility. $10 fee per student.

Credit Hours: 3

This course is intended as an introduction to the theories, methods and goals of anthropological linguistics, focusing on the structure and use of language in cultural context. Will address questions about what language is, how languages are similar and different, how and why speech patterns vary within a speech community, and how languages change.

Credit Hours: 3

Covers basic theories and methods used in archaeology to study lifestyles of past cultures through an examination of their tools, house and community remains, and art works. Includes methods of excavation, dating techniques, and other methods of analysis. Open to both majors and non-majors.

Credit Hours: 3

An exploration of current anthropological theories and methods for understanding human cultures from a comparative perspective; also examines human institutions such as religion, politics, and family cross-culturally. Although non-Western societies are emphasized, comparisons with our own are treated as well.

Credit Hours: 3

Topics in popular anthropology as selected by the instructor. Topics vary and are announced in advance. May be repeated with different instructors.

Credit Hours: 3-6

(Same as LING 301) The problem of the uniqueness of human language and how it fits into culture and society. The origin and development of language. Topics covered include animal and human communication, language and world view, and the meaning of meaning.

Credit Hours: 3

This course is a survey of development of those ancient complex societies known as civilizations around the world. The emphasis is on the use of archaeological data to understand the interplay of environmental and cultural factors that led to the beginnings of agriculture, population growth, and the origins of cities. Among the early societies that may be analyzed are Mesopotamia, Egypt, China, Europe, Maya, Aztec, and Inca.

Credit Hours: 3

(Same as AFR 310A) An introduction to the prehistory, cultural history, and modern cultures of peoples-Africa.

Credit Hours: 3

An introduction to the prehistory, cultural history, and modern cultures of peoples-Europe.

Credit Hours: 3

This course is designed to provide students in the University Honors program a survey of the prehistory, cultural history, and contemporary cultures of the geographic area in question. Topical emphasis may vary from year to year, in conjunction with other 310 sections. Special approval needed from the department (Restricted to students in University Honors program).

Credit Hours: 3

Discussion of human sexual behavior, the opposition of violence and aggression with cooperative behavior, and the anthropological background of facts concerning whether these behaviors are driven by biological (instinctual) or purely cultural factors.

Credit Hours: 3

(University Core Curriculum) A detailed study of ancient and modern Egypt with emphasis on the evolutionary development of the culture, history, and major (and well-known) archaeological structures (think Pyramids and King Tut!). The interdependence of human culture, biology, and the environment will be discussed with a broad-ranging consideration of how humans make their history; alter their biology and the environment; and are, in turn, shaped by it. No prerequisites. This course meets a UCC Social Science requirement.

Credit Hours: 3

The contribution of anthropology to an understanding of contemporary human problems of environmental crisis, world hunger and overpopulation, social stratification and internal order, war and international order. The approach is cross-cultural drawing on knowledge of all societies and cultures in space and time. Anthropological fundamentals are introduced at the beginning.

Credit Hours: 3

Special approval needed from the instructor and Classics section head.

Credit Hours: 2-8

Provides credit towards an undergraduate degree for study at a foreign institution, in an approved overseas program, or approved program offered by SIUC faculty. Determination of credit is made by the department based on the specific program and requirements. May be repeated. Prerequisites: one year of residence at this institution, good academic standing, completion of one of: ANTH 104, ANTH 202, ANTH 240A, 240B, 240C, or 240D. Special approval needed from the department.

Credit Hours: 1-15

This course is designed to teach students in the University Honors program the skills needed to consume the professional literature of anthropology intelligently. The subjects covered include: the importance of research questions or hypotheses, the logic of deducing test implications, literature search, sampling, measurement issues, data reduction and graphing, and simple inferential statistics. Not for graduate credit. This course is for students in the University Honors program.

Credit Hours: 3

(Same as LING 406) An introductory survey of historical and comparative linguistics, including terminology, assumptions and methods of investigation. Satisfies the CoLA Writing-Across-the Curriculum requirement. Prerequisite: one of ANTH 240B, LING 300, or LING 405. Not for graduate credit.

Credit Hours: 3

Basic concepts of anthropology are used to interpret the imaginary worlds of science fiction. Fictional alien cultures are examined to see how features of human biology, language, social organization, technology, etc. are patterned after or are different from known human cultures. How do science fiction and anthropology both call on the imagination of otherness to critique the present? These themes will be explored through a selection of short stories, novels and films.

Credit Hours: 3

This seminar examines the social, cultural, experiential, evolutionary, and historical dimensions of music. It is designed for students for whom music is a topical interest, who need to gain foundational knowledge about the theory and methods of ethnomusicology. We will review the history of ethnomusicology, major theoretical debates, and current issues.

Credit Hours: 3

(Same as AFR 410H) This course examines aspects of African expressive culture including the visual arts, music, dance, orature, cinema, drama and ceremony from an anthropological perspective. Particular attention is given to analysis of African expressive culture in social context and the role of the arts in the practice of politics, religion, medicine and other aspects of African life. Many of the expressive genres examined deal with historical representation and political resistance. Therefore, this course provides insights into African history and politics through the creative representations of African artists.

Credit Hours: 3

This course surveys recent studies of sociocultural identities based on ethnicity, class, race, gender, nationality, age, language, and other criteria, as aspects of broader struggles over power and meaning. Topics to be addressed are critical analyses of identity politics in the Americas, Europe, Middle East, Asia, and other regions; historical approaches to studying identities; and ethnographic studies of transnational and diasporic communities.

Credit Hours: 3

An examination of the relationship of past and present human populations in the context of their natural and social environments.

Credit Hours: 3

(Same as WGSS 410) How do humans become male and female in different societies? Can men become women and women become men? What other gender possibilities exist? Is male dominance universal? What are the sources of male and female power and resistance? Do women have a separate culture? What are the relationships between gender, militarism and war? These and other questions will be examined in cross-cultural perspective.

Credit Hours: 3

An examination of recent approaches to popular culture, material culture and consumption in anthropology. Special topical focus will include sports, television and movies, food and shopping. The course will be organized around several fieldwork projects in the Carbondale community. Prerequisite: ANTH 240D recommended for undergraduates.

Credit Hours: 3

This course is designed to familiarize students with the experience of colonialism and the political, social, cultural implications of it. The analysis will not be limited to the study of the colonial period, but it will examine the complexities of contemporary post-colonial societies and cultures.

Credit Hours: 3

This course examines the risks that any anthropological research poses, both in fieldwork and writing, as well as questions and dilemmas that any social scientist should be aware of before getting involved in any research practice. Prerequisite: ANTH 240D recommended for undergraduates.

Credit Hours: 3

In this course we will explore all aspects of the social uses and symbolic meanings we attach to food and eating. How do we use food to make friends, to make enemies, and to make ourselves? What is changing in our food consumption patterns? What are some of the politics and the ethics involved in producing and marketing food? What is the significance of eating out? How do we analyze the smell and taste of food cross-culturally?

Credit Hours: 3

Technologies and scientific knowledge are commonly thought of as being universally applicable and as representations of truths about the operations of the world that are independent of culture. Anthropological studies, however, suggest that the efficacy of scientific knowledge and technologies is specific to the localities in which they are produced. This course introduces students to the primary concerns of the anthropology of science.

Credit Hours: 3

This course familiarizes students with the methods used by socio-cultural anthropologists to conduct ethnographies. Ethnographies are rich and detailed studies of people, communities, and practices that help us understand the varying ways human beings engage their environments, structure the societies and spaces they live in, communicate with one another, make meaning, shape themselves in culturally distinct ways, and make technologies and material culture. To create ethnographic knowledge, ethnographers use a diverse tool kit including participant observation, ethnographic interviews, spatial analysis, archival research, and life histories, to name just a few. This class introduces students to these methods and also exposes them to the ethical, logistical, and theoretical complications of conducting ethnographic research.

Credit Hours: 3

This class considers anthropological evidence for and approaches to issues of power and rulership in relation to egalitarian or anarchist societies, that is, societies without arches (Greek for leaders/laws). We will look at how much societies function, what kinds of history and mythology they produce, how their exchange systems are elaborated, and why they have remained "under the radar" of the modern system of state societies. What can egalitarian/anarchist societies tell us about dominant assumptions about the nature of power and governance? How have ideas about "direct democracy" shaped new social and cultural practices? What is the relationship between these projects and movements and the larger societies in which they exist?

Credit Hours: 3

This seminar introduces students to the theories and methods of visual anthropology. Topics will vary semester-to-semester, ranging from methodologies used for ethnographic research of visual cultures, to critical analysis of photography and film/video as methodologies for ethnographic exposition.

Credit Hours: 3

The new digital technologies provide exciting new ways to conduct anthropological research and present research findings. They also raise technical, methodological, and ethical questions for researchers. This course examines these issues through readings and analysis of examples of use of these media - digital video, still photography, and web authoring - in the field and in presentation to a scholarly and larger public.

Credit Hours: 3

(Same as AFR 413) This course examines the history and social significance of African film from cultural, aesthetic, political, and economic perspectives.

Credit Hours: 3

(Same as LING 415) This course studies the relationship between language and society. The focus in an individual semester may include but is not limited to regional dialectology, language variation, linguistic geography, multilingualism, languages in contact, and/or language planning.

Credit Hours: 3

(Same as LING 416) This course offers a survey of the historical, social, political, linguistic and educational issues surrounding the Spanish language in the United States. Topics to be addressed include Spanish language use and bilingualism, language maintenance and shift, education of Latino populations, Hispanic diversity, and Latino literature.

Credit Hours: 3

(Same as LING 417) Introduction to the study of the social conditions under which language contact occurs and the cultural and linguistic consequences of such contact using data from a variety of languages and cultures. Potential topics include: language maintenance and shift, ideologies and attitudes regarding bilingualism, and language development and change.

Credit Hours: 3

(Same as WGSS 426 and LING 426) This course is designed for students who have had some exposure to gender studies. It will focus on readings in language and gender in the fields of anthropological- and socio-linguistics. Issues to be addressed are the differences between language use by men/boys and women/girls, how these differences are embedded in other cultural practices, and the various methodologies and theories that have been used to study gendered language use.

Credit Hours: 3

Detailed study of the early cultures of North America. Emphasis on the evolutionary cultural development of North America.

Credit Hours: 3

Detailed study of the early culture of ancient Egypt with emphasis on the evolutionary cultural development of Egypt. No prerequisites. ANTH 430E cannot be used to meet requirements of both UCC and Grad School.

Credit Hours: 3

A survey of the major developments of the human past, culminating in the rise of cities and states. Areal coverage varies, but generally includes the ancient Near East, Mesoamerica, Andean South America, South Asia (India and Pakistan), and China. Graduate standing required.

Credit Hours: 3

An advanced consideration of the fossil evidence for human evolution and evaluation of the various theories regarding the course of human evolution.

Credit Hours: 3

This course will provide an ecological, behavioral, geological, geographic, and theoretical context from which to understand the evolutionary history of modern humans. The course is designed to complement ANTH 440A.

Credit Hours: 3

Being durable, abundant, and full of information about food, social customs, styles, and even ideology, pottery provides a wealth of information about past societies. This course covers the major aspects of pottery analysis, including studies of raw materials, production techniques, function, and exchange. The course is partly lecture, partly lab-based.

Credit Hours: 3

This course provides an introduction to lithic analysis in archaeology. Students will be introduced to technological and functional analyses, typological studies, use-wear analysis, debitage analysis, and related subjects. The focus will be on chipped stone, but ground stone will also be considered. The overall goal is to show how lithic analysis can address broader anthropological questions.

Credit Hours: 3

This course gives students hands-on experience in the management, curation, and basic analysis of anthropological collections. Students will work with archaeological or museum artifacts and may gain experience in archival methods, collections rehabilitation, curation databases, and working with the public among other topics. May be taken independently or as a follow-up to ANTH 450, 495, 496, 497, 596, or 597. $30 lab fee covers cost of expendable laboratory supplies necessary to complete course work and projects.

Credit Hours: 1-12

(May be repeated once for a maximum of 6 hours.) This course will cover special topics in Biological (Physical) Anthropology. Topics will vary between offerings and may include special or current issues in forensic research, human variation, genetics and evolution, primate behavior, ecology, conservation, or human evolution.

Credit Hours: 3

Advanced study of the behavior and ecology of living nonhuman primates. The course will cover the geographic distribution and basic ecological features of nonhuman primates and the relationships between resource distribution, social organization, mating system and behavior which will help to reconstruct the evolution of nonhuman and human primate sociality.

Credit Hours: 3

Classic inferential statistics as well as resampling approaches and pattern recognition philosophy: chi square, t test, ANOVA, correlation and regression, nonparametric versus parametric methods, multiple regression, all involving diverse anthropological data examples. This course in combination with Ed Psych 506 or other approved substitute satisfies a doctoral tool requirement. Does not count as a bioanthropology elective toward the M.A. degree.

Credit Hours: 3

This lab-based course is for the advanced student interested in the analysis of the human skeleton. An intensive study of human skeletal anatomy, the methods used in the identification and analysis of skeletal remains in archaeological contexts, and osteological evidence for disease, diet, and trauma in past populations.

Credit Hours: 3

Critical to the successful forensic anthropological analysis of human remains is an understanding of the events and processes that affect decomposition of biological tissues. This course is designed to teach students about a variety of process affecting decomposition of human tissues, including (but, not limited to) animal scavenging, insect activity, environmental conditions, personal characteristics of the deceased and human vectors (dismemberment, burning, burial, etc.). Prerequisite: ANTH 231 OR ANTH 455H.

Credit Hours: 3

Guided research on anthropological problems. The academic work may be done on campus or in conjunction with approved off-campus (normally field research) activities. Special approval needed from the instructor.

Credit Hours: 1-12

For anthropology majors only. This provides a supervised experience in a professional setting. Not for graduate credit. Special approval needed from the department.

Credit Hours: 3-9

A survey of the prehistory, cultural history, and modern cultures of peoples in Africa.

Credit Hours: 3

Intensive examination of the prehistory, cultural history, and modern cultures of peoples in Europe.

Credit Hours: 3

Readings and discussion concerning major issues in the study of humankind, with an emphasis on anthropological writing. Not open to graduate students or non-majors. Fulfills the Writing-Across-the-Curriculum requirement. Prerequisite: ANTH 240A,B,C,D.

Credit Hours: 3

This internship is intended to introduce students to the management of archaeological collections through hands-on work with materials, typically those housed at the Center for Archaeological Investigations' curation facility. Students will be exposed to a variety of issues that affect local, state, and national curation facilities such as conservation, preservation, accessibility, accountability, and ethical concerns. Internship projects range from collections documentation and research to object digitalization and other special curation projects. Special approval needed from the instructor to register.

Credit Hours: 1-9

Selected advanced topics in anthropology. Topics vary and are announced in advance. May be repeated as the topic varies. Special approval needed from the instructor.

Credit Hours: 3-9

Apprentice training in the field in ethnographic theory and method. Students will be expected to devote full time to the field school. Special approval needed from the instructor.

Credit Hours: 3-8

Apprentice training in the field in archaeological method and theory. Students will be expected to be in full-time residence at the field school headquarters off campus. Special approval needed from the instructor. Students will be charged a $50 fee for supplies.

Credit Hours: 1-12

This course offers training in archaeological field techniques related to the excavation and analysis of human skeletal remains. Students are expected to be in full-time residence at the field school site, which may involve international travel. Offered during the summer. Special approval needed from the instructor.

Credit Hours: 3

Directed reading and field or library research. The student will write a thesis paper based on original research. Not for graduate students. Special approval needed from the department.

Credit Hours: 3